Welcome to The Manor Of Belper

Intrigue....rebellion....treason....execution....royal government....From the Norman Conquest to the 21st Century!

The purpose of this website is to promote and celebrate the remarkable history of the Manor Of Belper in Derbyshire.

This manor has a recorded history stretching back to before the Norman Conquest. There have been 31 lords of the Manor Of Belper, not including people or entities which held the Manor in trust for short periods of time. Many of these lords had a role in events of national historical significance, such as the Barons' Wars.

The Lords of this Manor include Anglo Saxon thegns, kings, dukes, earls, baronets, military officers and business leaders. There is a crusader knight and an earl who was executed for treason. There is a solicitor-general to a Prince Of Wales. There are MPs and a Clerk To The House Of Commons. There is the Duchy Of Lancaster and The City Of London.

Yet, the complete succession list of these lords has not been fully recorded anywhere.... until now. 

One thousand years....31 lords!

In this website, I explain how the Manor Of Belper came into being and how its name has changed over the years. I list the complete 'manorial descent'; in other words, the list of lords who held the lands which became the Manor Of Belper, along with the evidence that exists to support each name in the succession list. I also provide some basic biographical details about each Lord, since there are so many colourful characters. The story of the Manor is inextricably linked with the story of its lords.

In a more generic sense, I give a brief explanation of what a manor was - and now is - together with a glossary of manorial terms, since manorialism is both arcane and archaic and not a subject which is now widely understood. 

Manors, of which there were originally over ten thousand in England, are an important and precious part of our nation's history. I hope you find the site interesting and if you have any comments or questions, please email me at the address on the 'About website / contact' page.